My thoughts on the Phillies season.

Happ shows that he belongs in the starting rotation as he four hit the Rockies’ offense, as the Phils defeat the Rockies, 7-0.

J.A. Happ becomes one of the few pitchers in the National League to pitch more than one shutout this season as he pitched his second career complete game shutout as he four hit the Rockies on the way to a 7-0 win. The Phils increased their lead to six games as the Marlins were defeated once again by the Nationals.

The Phils took the lead in the first as, with a man on base and two outs, Ryan Howard hits an RBI single, knocking in Chase Utley, who had earlier doubled, giving the Phils a 1-0 lead. The Phils would increased their lead in the second as, with one man out, Pedro Feliz hits a solo home run, his seventh home run of the season, to give the Phils a 2-0 lead. Three batters later, with a runner on third, and with two men out, Jimmy Rollins hits a two-run home run, his thirteenth home run of the year, knocking in Carlos Ruiz, who had earlier doubled, and then moved up to third on Phils’ starter J.A. Happ’s ground out, 6-3, giving the Phils a 4-0 lead. The Phils then broke it open in the fifth as, with two men on, and two men out, Jayson Werth hits a three-run home run, his twenty-third home run of the year, as he knocked in Utley, who had earlier been hit by the pitch, and then went to third on Raul Ibanez’s double, and Ibanez, who had just doubled, giving the Phils a 7-0 lead. That would be more than enough for Happ, as he proceeded to pitch a gem against the Rockies, getting into only one real jam, as the Rockies puts runner on second and third in the top of the third, via a single to the Rockies’ starter, Jorge De La Rosa and a double by Dexter Fowler, which sent De La Rosa to third, with two men out. Unfortunately, for the Rockies, the next batter, Clint Barmes, struck out swinging, ending the threat. Happ went on to pitch a complete game shut out, giving up only four hits and two walks, while he struck out a career high ten batters.

J.A. Happ got the win as he pitched a complete game shut out, giving up only four hits and two walks, as he struck out a career high ten batters. His record is now 8-2 with a ERA of 2.74. Jorge De La Rosa took the lost, as he pitched five innings, giving up seven runs on ten hits, while he struck out three. His record is now 9-8 with a 5.00 ERA. Josh Fogg pitched three scoreless innings in relief, giving up just a hit and a walk, while he struck out two.

The Phils collected eleven hits in the game, with Pedro Feliz and Carlos Ruiz leading the team with two hits apiece, with one of Feliz’s hit being a solo home run, while one of Ruiz’s hits was a double. Jimmy Rollins, Shane Victorino, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Raul Ibanez, Jayson Werth, and J.A. Happ had the other seven Phils’ hits, with Rollins’ hit being a two-run home run, and Werth’s being a three-run home run, while Victorino, Utley, Ibanez and Happ all hit doubles, with Happ’s double being his first major league extra-base hit. Besides Rollins’s two rbis, Werth’s three ribbies and Feliz’s one run batted in, thanks to home run, Howard knocked in the other Phils’ run with a single, as the Phils brought in several runs yesterday, thanks to the long ball.

The Phils (60-45, 1st National League East) conclude their three game series with the Rockies (59-48, 3rd National League West) with an afternoon game in Citizens Bank Park, already in progress. The Phils starter is Cliff Lee (8-9 (1-0), 3.02), who is coming off a complete game win over the Giants on July 31, as he gave up only one run on four hits and two walks, as he struck out six, in the Phils’ 5-1 win. He is going after his second win as a Phil, while trying to pitch well before his new home crowd. The Rockies will counter with Aaron Cook (10-3, 3.88), who is coming off a no-decision against the Reds on July 31, where he pitched six and two-thirds innings, giving up three runs on seven hits and two walks, while striking out four, in the Rockies’ 5-3 win. He will be trying to match Lee, as he goes for his eleventh win of the season. The Phils will be going for the series win, as they prepare for the Marlins to come to the Bank this weekend.

Meta

The following are trademarks or service marks of Major League Baseball entities and may be used only with permission of Major League Baseball Properties, Inc. or the relevant Major League Baseball entity: Major League, Major League Baseball, MLB, the silhouetted batter logo, World Series, National League, American League, Division Series, League Championship Series, All-Star Game, and the names, nicknames, logos, uniform designs, color combinations, and slogans designating the Major League Baseball clubs and entities, and their respective mascots, events and exhibitions.